The Boston College
Chronicle
Football Coach Search Progressing
By Reid Oslin
Staff Writer
Boston College expects to have
a new football coach in place by
the end of the month, say University administrators who are now
actively seeking a replacement for
departed coach Tom O’Brien.
O’Brien, who had coached at
Boston College for the past 10
seasons, accepted the head coaching position at North Carolina
State University on Dec. 8.
“We’re going to go quick, but
we’re not going to hurry,” said
Athletics Director Gene DeFilippo, who is heading up the nationwide search for the new coach.
DeFilippo declined to name potential candidates who have expressed an interest in the job.
“I want to thank Tom for 10
really, really good years at Boston
College,” DeFilippo said. “He left
this program in a lot better shape
AT A GLANCE
Archdiocese Communications
Director Shea joins BC (page 3)
Heights of Excellence:
Sociologist Juliet Schor
(above, page 5)
BOC head Early has a
full calendar (page 8)
COMING UP@BC
FRIDAY-SUNDAY: “A Dancer’s
Christmas,” Robsham Theater
SUNDAY: Men’s Basketball
at Sacred Heart, 1 p.m.,
Conte Forum
SUNDAY: Women’s Basketball
at Maine, 3:30 p.m., Conte Forum
For updates on campus
events during the semester
break, see events.bc.edu or
www.bc.edu/bcinfo
Tom O’Brien: 75-45 record in 10 years
as coach. (Photo by Gary Gilbert)
than the program he found.”
In 10 years at Boston College,
O’Brien led the football Eagles to
a record of 75-45 – the most wins
of any coach in the University’s
106-year football history. Under
his leadership, the BC team has
also qualified for eight consecutive bowl games, including the
Dec. 30 Meineke Car Care Bowl
in Charlotte, NC, against Navy.
Boston College has won six
consecutive post-season games,
currently the longest bowl game
winning streak in college football.
“There are great people and
there’s great excitement at Boston
College,” O’Brien told a press
gathering in Raleigh as he formally accepted the North Carolina State appointment. “But this
is an opportunity and I look
forward to the opportunity to be
here.”
DeFilippo named defensive
coordinator Frank Spaziani interim head coach of the team.
Spaziani, who also has been on
the BC staff for the past 10 years,
will handle coaching duties for
the bowl game against Navy.
Campus Dialogues on
Diversity Continuing
can turn for assistance.
Student representatives, including UGBC leaders Jenn Castillo, executive director of the
student life department, Omolara
Bewaji, director of academic afBy Jack Dunn
fairs, John Hellman, director of
Director of Public Affairs
GLBT Affairs and Senator Jodi
Working to improve the on- Ann Burey, have worked closely
campus climate for students, fac- with the co-chairs, other adminulty and staff of all backgrounds, istrators and faculty in the hope
University administrators are en- of finalizing an agreement on
gaged in a series of meetings with these important issues early in the
student leaders they hope will spring semester.
Administrators and faculty
lead to improved communications on diversity matters and a involved in the process include
new protocol on race-related is- Dean for Student Development
Robert Sherwood, Residential
sues at Boston College.
A Protocol Review Commit- Life Director Henry Humphreys
tee, composed of students, faculty and Associate Director Justin
and staff and co-chaired by Ex- Price, BC Chief of Police Robert Morse,
ecutive Director
AHANA
of Institutional
Student
Diversity Rich“The process of communica- Programs
ard Jefferson
and Associate
tion that we are engaged in D i r e c tor Ines
Vice President
might be at least as impor- Maturana
for Student AfSendoya,
fairs
Sheilah
tant as the product that it
University
Shaw Horton,
will eventually produce.”
Counselis meeting with
students to es—Richard Jefferson ing Services Astablish clearer
sociate Didefinitions of
rector Erin
hate crimes and
Curtiss,
bias-motivated
offenses and methods of reporting Campus Minister Sister Mary
and responding to such crimes T. Sweeney, Africa and African
and offenses. The committee is Diaspora Studies Program Direcalso looking to put together a tor Assoc. Prof. Cynthia Young
response network, modeled after (English) and Prof. Ramsay Liem
the sexual assault and discrimi- (Psychology).
“While at times they have been
natory harassment networks, to
which victims of racial incidents
Continued on page 3
Several initiatives
under way to address
communication
december 14, 2006-vol. 15 no. 8
Suzanne Camarata
Elizabeth LaPadula ’10, left, and friend entertain a young visitor at the
Christmas Buddies party hosted this past Saturday by the Office of Residential Life for about 50 area children and their foster families.
Holidays at the Heights
Members of the Boston College community give of their time, energy, faith,
spirit and other resources throughout the year, but during the holiday season
— beginning with Thanksgiving and stretching into January — their good
works seem to shine the brightest. A look at some recent, ongoing and upcoming community service and outreach activities involving BC students, faculty,
administrators and staff:
Some 75 Boston College undergraduates organized by the Volunteer
Service Learning Center into two separate groups will be in Mississippi
Jan. 7–14 to lend a hand with on-going relief efforts that continue 16
months after Hurricane Katrina laid waste to the Gulf Coast.
A group of 35 led by the Undergraduate Government of Boston College will head to Pass Christian, Miss., and work under the auspices of
Persevere Disaster Relief, an organization started by William Driscoll ’05.
“We will do anything from de-molding homes to taking out trees to
cleaning up empty lots,” said Kelly Dalton ’09, of Swampscott, Mass.,
who has been to the region twice since the hurricane struck.
Dalton said the odious task of donning a “Ghostbuster” suit and
“power buffer” and cleaning out homes that have been abandoned was a
far better way to spend the month-long Christmas than staying at home.
“There’s been so little media attention given to that area but everyday
I think about those families,” said Dalton.
A second group of 40 organized by the AHANA Leadership Council
will make their way to Gulfport, Miss., and will work with Derrick Evans,
an African and African Diaspora Studies Program faculty member who
has been at work in the region since Katrina. Evans is aiding relief efforts
in his hometown of Turkey Creek, Miss.
Evans has established a recognized nonprofit corporation, the Turkey
Creek Community Initiative [www.turkey-creek.org].
***
As a way of reminding themselves of their good fortunes and to contribute to a worthy cause, Grounds Maintenance Manager Jamie Slattery
and his son, Mason, 18, traveled to New Orleans to assist with clean-up
efforts in that city during the week before Thanksgiving.
The Slatterys said it is plain to see the Big Easy is still in need of plenty
of attention.
“At the rate they’re going they will be rebuilding New Orleans for the
next 25 years,” said Jamie Slattery.
The pair made their way to New Orleans as part of a contingent organized through Boston Cares, an agency that typically leads team oriented
volunteer opportunities throughout Greater Boston.
“A lot of the people were grateful but were very angry about the lack of
help from the government,” said Mason.
The Slatterys worked with others cleaning and gutting houses that
had been abandoned since Katrina. What they saw and experienced
would not soon be forgotten, said the elder Slattery. He shared some of
the horrific photos that he and his son had taken, such as those of rotting
homes, furniture still hanging from trees and an entire house uprooted
and dropped on a pick-up truck.
Mason said, “I would say that people shouldn’t forget how much more
help that this place needs, because so many people were left without their
homes.”
Continued on page 4
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
december 14, 2006
Immigration, through
an Irish lens
AROUND
AROUND
CAMPUS
Bapst Library’s Gargan Hall now offers “round-the-clock” study space almost every night. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
“24”
The 24-hour study space recently established in Bapst Library’s Gargan Hall as a pilot
program has become the newest
campus “hot spot,” if numbers are
any indication.
Opening on the Monday after Thanksgiving break with little
advance notice, the after-hours
study space drew some 50 students its first night, says Bapst
Librarian Adeane Bregman, and
traffic has been growing steadily — for example, there were
112 users counted at 1 a.m. last
Wednesday.
Gargan Hall’s 24-hour schedule
will run Sundays through Thursdays for the rest of the academic
year, expanding to seven nights
during final examinations.
The idea of a 24-hour study
area came into focus this past
summer, after — in response to
student requests for such a space
— Gargan Hall and the O’Neill
Library Reserve Room were kept
open for extra hours at exam time
during the previous academic year.
Tribute to “Pelly”
Former Boston College
baseball coach Eddie Pellagrini, who died on Oct. 11 at age
88, will be honored by having
his No. 13 jersey retired by the
University.
Pellagrini, a former major
league ballplayer who coached
at BC from 1957 through
1988 and led his teams to 359
A committee chaired by James
Kreinbring, executive assistant to
the Vice President for Student
Affairs, discussed the possibilities and challenges in creating a
permanent round-the-clock study
space.
“When students ask for study
space,” said Kreinbring, “you certainly want to respond.”
But establishing the 24-hour
space was not, as Bregman notes,
just a matter of opening a door
and posting a sign. “You need a
contained space, but you don’t
want to have students roaming
around campus in the middle of
the night, so that means you need
to make sure they have what they
need on the premises” — including access to bathrooms, as well as
snacks and refreshments.
In fact, Kreinbring points out,
numerous offices and departments
played a role in the project, including: the Undergraduate Government of Boston College; Boston
College Police Department; and
the offices of the Executive and
Financial vice presidents, Space
Management and the Dean for
Student Development. Obtaining
and setting up vending machines
for the Bapst downstairs lounge
— also available after hours —
was the work of Dining Services,
Facilities Management and Information Technology.
Administrators will review the
24-hour pilot program during the
summer and decide whether or
not to make it a permanent fixture.
Whatever other considerations
might be weighed, Bregman says
there is certainly an historical and
symbolic benefit to using Gargan,
which dates to the early years of
BC’s Chestnut Hill Campus.
“Gargan is a touchstone for
BC to many people,” she says. “I
can’t tell you how many alumni
make a point of visiting Gargan
when they return to campus. And
one of my all-time favorite comments was from a student who
said, ‘When I come here, I feel so
smart.’”
—SS
victories and three appearances
in the NCAA’s College World
Series, is the first member of the
Boston College baseball program
to be so honored.
“We will hang a replica of
Pelly’s jersey on the outfield wall,”
says Athletics Director Gene DeFilippo. The Boston College baseball diamond on Shea Field is
already named for Pellagrini.
Pellagrini joins a select circle
of Boston College athletes who
have had their jersey numbers
retired. The group includes
football players Doug Flutie
’85, winner of the 1984 Heisman Trophy; 1985 Outland
Award winner Mike Ruth ’86;
and hockey player David Emma
’91, who won the Hobey Baker
Award as college hockey’s best
player in his senior year.
—RO
Thirteen immigrant leaders
from Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe — hoping to emulate the
political and economic successes
of minorities in the United States
— have participated this month
in an inaugural program run by
the Boston College Irish Institute,
part of the University’s Center for
Irish Programs (CIP).
The program, which began
Dec. 5 and ends tomorrow, features seminars with faculty members from the Carroll School of
Management and Political Science
Department, as well as with Office
of Governmental and Community Affairs Vice President Thomas
J. Keady Jr.
In addition, participants —
representing Somali, Bangladeshi,
Chinese, Polish, Romanian, Sudanese and other new communities — are making several site
visits to community and political
organizations that help promote,
support, advocate for and nurture
immigrant communities in the
United States.
“Although Ireland and Northern Ireland have historically been
sites of emigration, for the first
time in their history, both countries are experiencing net immigration as a result of continued
European Union integration and
Clippings
“What we don’t have any
evidence for is the idea, is
the claim that the more you
enrich the environment, the
more neurons you grow, the
smarter you become. That’s
pop psychology.”
—Prof. Ellen Winner (Psychology), interviewed on “Genius:
Quest for Extreme Brain Power.”
(CNN)
“As a Boston College student, I have always felt and
seen the impact and the importance of serving the community. I am very excited
that I am able to help others
and change lives by working with Medical Missions for
Children, and participate in
such an important experience
within my studies.”
—Steve Dool ’07, a student
in Communication Department
Counselor Roger Woolsey’s Advanced Public Relations class,
which is conducting a fund-raising campaign for the nonprofit
organization Medical Missions
for Children. (Boston Herald)
“There would still be a
need for philanthropy, even if
our economic needs were all
taken care of.”
—Center on Wealth and
Philanthropy Director Prof.
Paul Schervish (Sociology), on
the motivations that foster actions of generosity. (Christian
Science Monitor)
robust economic growth,” said
CIP Executive Director Thomas
E. Hachey.
“This influx of immigrants into
Ireland and Northern Ireland has
been a boon to the economy, but
the rapid entry of foreign-born
workers and asylum seekers has
been an unexpected and challenging consequence of economic and
political stability,” said Hachey,
noting there are currently approximately 150,000 Polish and
50,000 Chinese people living in
Dublin alone.
“Ireland and Northern Ireland
are now home to growing Polish,
African and Chinese communities,
and while these immigrants have
been absorbed relatively seamlessly into the economy, some
groups have found it difficult and
problematic to integrate into the
cultural, political and social fabric
of Ireland and Northern Ireland,
as the existing communities have
struggled to accept them.”
Funding for programs is provided by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Cultural and Educational Affairs, by
Boston College, and through a
variety of partnerships. More information on the Irish Institute is
available at www.bc.edu/centers/
irish/institute/.
—Rosanne Pellegrini
The Boston College
Chronicle
Director of Public Affairs
Jack Dunn
Deputy Director of
Public AFFAIRS
Patricia Delaney
Editor
Sean Smith
Contributing Staff
Greg Frost
Stephen Gawlik
Reid Oslin
Rosanne Pellegrini
Lauren Piekarski
Kathleen Sullivan
Photographers
Gary Gilbert
Lee Pellegrini
The Boston College Chronicle
(USPS 009491), the internal newspaper for faculty and staff, is published
biweekly from September to May by
Boston College, with editorial offices
at the Office of Public Affairs, 14
Mayflower Road, Chestnut Hill, MA
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Electronic editions of the Boston
College Chronicle are available via
the World Wide Web at http://
www.bc.edu/chronicle.
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
december 14, 2006
Archdiocese Communications Director Shea to Join BC
Will succeed Lehane as
executive assistant to
University President
By Sean Smith
Chronicle Editor
The way Kevin Shea sees it,
he’s already worked for two of
the most prominent institutions
in New England — the Boston
Red Sox and the Archdiocese of
Boston — and now he’s about to
join a third: Boston College.
This Monday, Shea will officially become executive assistant
to University President William
P. Leahy, SJ, after serving as director of media relations and communications for the Archdiocese
of Boston since 2005. He also
worked for the Boston Red Sox
for 15 years, holding positions in
marketing, media and community
relations and internal and external
communications.
“I think there are many similarities between the three institutions,” said Shea, the successor to
Jim Lehane, who resigned last
June to become director of the
Sandwich Community School in
Sandwich.
“The passion and devotion they
inspire among their constituents is
profound. We know how much
people care about the Red Sox, of
course; and we’ve seen a renewed
level of dedication expressed towards the Archdiocese of Boston
these past few years.
“I’ve been similarly struck by
the vibrant enthusiasm of people
who’ve studied, and who work, at
BC. It’s clearly an exciting place
and I look forward to being a part
of it.”
As executive assistant to the
president, Shea will oversee the
day-to-day operation of Botolph
House and serve as Fr. Leahy’s
liaison within the University and
to the larger community.
A Milton native and 1989
graduate of the College of Holy
Cross, Shea has cultivated numerous personal and professional
ties to the University — beginning with his grandfather, a BC
alumnus who arranged to have his
wedding take place on campus.
His wife Marlene is also a graduate of the Class of 1995.
Shea notes that when he began
his tenure with the Red Sox, the
team was still under the direction of CEO John Harrington ’57
and then-Executive Vice President
John Buckley ’66, who impressed
Shea with their loyalty to their
alma mater. The Red Sox later created more formal ties with the
University when they established
a partnership with BC through
the Fenway Sports Group.
As communications director
for the Archdiocese of Boston,
Shea says, he saw first-hand Boston College’s commitment to aid
the Catholic Church, most notably through the Church in the
21st Century initiative, and its
assistance to struggling Archdiocesan schools. “Working for the Red Sox
straight out of college was a dream
job for a kid from Milton,” Shea
said. “My decision to work for
the Archdiocese was based on a
number of factors, in particular
out of my own personal desire to
put my skills and experience to
use in helping the Church and
Cardinal O’Malley at a time of
great need.
“I have been extremely fortunate during my professional career. Coming to BC is another
dream job. And, as with the Red
Sox and the Archdiocese, it goes
right to the passion and devotion
you see before you. That passion
can also present challenges, but
largely it is a unique force for
something positive.”
Shea sees other parallels in past,
present and future employers. “I’ve worked with John Harrington and with [Boston Archbishop] Sean O’Malley, and found
them both to be humble, reserved,
reluctant to be in the spotlight,
but extremely intelligent and exceedingly capable people.
“From what I’ve observed, Fr.
Leahy is much the same way.
His dedication, his work ethic,
his leadership and his vision are
remarkable. He has achieved so
much at BC over these past 10
years and he has positioned the
University to take its next major
leap forward. I look forward to
helping him in any way I can.”
BC Researchers Say Massachusetts
Among the Top 10 in Charitable Giving
Massachusetts ranks among the
top 10 states in charitable giving,
according to new research by the
Center on Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston College.
The center also identifies New
York, Utah, California, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, Georgia, Hawaii and South Carolina as
the most generous states. In addition, the District of Columbia was
second only to New York in the
new report, released last month by
the Boston Foundation.
The report on charitable giving
is a follow-up to last year’s study
“Generosity and Geography,”
which was researched by center
director Prof. Paul G. Schervish
(Sociology) and associate director
John J. Havens. That report was
commissioned as part of a body
of research on prospects of future
philanthropy in Greater Boston.
“Generosity and Geography”
raised serious questions about the
validity of the Generosity Index,
published annually by the Catalogue for Philanthropy, which
purports to rank all 50 states in
terms of generosity. The Boston
Foundation report challenged the
conclusions of the Generosity Index by eliminating what the foundation believes is its built-in bias
against high-income states that
makes the Generosity Index an
inaccurate comparative measure
of charitable giving.
Schervish and Havens created a
new methodology that takes into
consideration each state’s cost of
living and the tax burden, including changes within states that are
driven by levels of urbanization —
which affects cost of living at the
more local level. The 2006 report
includes all of these variables.
As in the 2005 report, Schervish and Havens call for avoiding
the word “generosity” in this and
similar works of research.
“Generosity is a moral, spiritual or social psychological characteristic of individuals and perhaps
families and households,” the authors write. “We do not believe
that the term generosity should
be associated with our measures,
nor any other measures that do
not directly study the inner disposition...of generosity. In truth,
every purported generosity index
that has ranked states is, in fact, a
charitable giving index.”
The report underscores the
fact that for many in Massachusetts, the high cost of housing and
other necessities of life places a
significant burden on the ability
of many families and individuals
to make charitable contributions.
Yet, unlike some surveys of giving in recent months that have
focused only on residents with the
highest levels of income or personal wealth, the current report
includes the entire population of
the state.
“There are many important
characteristics that have an impact
on the decisions individuals and
families make about charitable
giving,” said Schervish. “Religious
affiliation, the presence of nonprofit organizations to create giving opportunities, ethnic differences — even the nature of work
residents of an area traditionally
engage in can have an effect.
“Farmers may tend to hold
more money in reserve because
their livelihood is so vulnerable to
the whims of weather. It would be
inappropriate to describe farmers
as less generous as a result — in
their case, giving less may make
compelling sense. This charitable
giving index takes that context
into consideration.”
The study is available at the
Boston College web site for the
CWP at www.bc.edu/research/
swri.
—Office of Public Affairs
“Coming to BC is another dream job. And, as
with the Red Sox and the Archdiocese, it goes right
to the passion and devotion you see before you.
That passion can also present challenges, but largely it is a unique force for something positive.”
—Kevin Shea
Administrators, Students
Address Race, Climate Issues
Continued from page 1
challenging, these meetings have
been very positive because we have
been able to sit down together
and ask hard questions and come
up with answers to hard questions,” said Jefferson. “I think that
all of us, including the students,
have learned that this is a much
more complex undertaking than
we originally thought it was, and
a lot of the complexity has actually
been unearthed by the students’
own questions.
“But we have learned to work
together and to build trust, and
as a result we are building an
understanding of what is involved
in putting together a successful
protocol.
“Sheilah and I believe that the
process of communication that we
are engaged in might be at least as
important as the product that it
will eventually produce.”
Castillo offered a similar assessment: “We are really pleased to be
working with the administration
and appreciate the fact that they
are letting us partner with them in
drafting this protocol. We feel that
more student input will only help
to advance the University.”
In addition to the Protocol
Committee, Executive Vice President Patrick Keating, Provost and
Dean of Faculties Cutberto Garza,
Vice President for Student Affairs
Cheryl Presley and Dean of Student Development Robert Sherwood have formed the VP Advisory Group that has met monthly
with student leaders over the past
three years to discuss overall campus climate issues.
Among the UGBC leaders involved in these discussions this
year are Castillo, Bewaji, UGBC
President Santi Bunce, Senator
Nyck Bernier, GLC leaders Veronica Joseph and John Hellman,
ALC leaders Seye Akinbulumo
and Rose Chou, and Kerry Brennan from the Quality of Student
Life Committee.
These two committees have
supplemented the work of the
Diversity Steering Committee,
which is composed of Jefferson,
Presley, Garza, Keating and Vice
President for Human Resources
Leo Sullivan. The Diversity Steering Committee has met monthly
since June of 2005 to address and
promote issues of diversity on
campus. The committee has supported a major employee study
and student experience survey
that will be released in 2007, and
is developing a Diversity Advisory
Committee made up of students,
faculty and administrators that
will advise the Office for Institutional Diversity.
The Diversity Steering Committee also will establish a strategic plan for diversity based, in
part, on recommendations made
from the employee and student
surveys.
“I am pleased that much progress is being made on these important issues,” said Jefferson. “I
want to thank all involved for
their many efforts.”
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
december 14, 2006
Holidays at the Heights
A Time for Reaching Out
Continued from page 1
***
For almost a quarter-century,
Facilities Services Assistant Director
Paula Forget has organized a campus
Christmas clothing and toy drive.
Names of needy children – along
with their ages (ranging from infant
to 18 years old), clothing sizes and
gift wish list — are provided to Forget from the Department of Social
Services and the Italian Home for
Children. Anyone interested in obtaining the name of a child from the
list can contact Forget at ext.2-8875
or forget@bc.edu. An expenditure
of $25-30 per child is recommended.
Gifts must be turned in no later than
Wednesday, Dec. 20.
***
The Office of Student Services is
presenting its annual raffle of Christmas gift baskets, with proceeds benefiting the Boston Medical Center,
Catholic Charities, Department of
Social Services, St. Columbkille’s
School in Brighton, the Italian Home
for Children and a battered women’s
shelter. Last year’s raffle raised more
than $4,000.
The baskets, which each contain various prizes grouped around
a theme, will be on display until
Tuesday, Dec. 19, from 11:30 a.m.2 p.m. daily in Lyons 207. The raffle
will take place on Dec. 20 at 3 p.m.
Tickets are $1 apiece or six for $5.
For more information, contact
Jane McGuire at ext.2-4972.
***
Two BC members of a national
Latina sorority are organizing a toy
drive to help needy families in Boston. Noelani Guerrero ’07, and Dana
Cordero ’08, members of the Boston chapter of the Omega Phi Beta
Sorority, are working to gather new
toys for La Sociedad Latina, a Boston
non-profit that assists families in the
Roxbury and Mission Hill neighborhoods.
Members of the Boston College
community who wish to participate
in the “Three King’s Day” Toy Drive
Dacey Co-Authors The
Safe Child Handbook
Lee Pellegrini
By Patricia Delaney
Deputy Director of
Public Affairs
In an age when parents and
children are bombarded with images and stories of natural disasters, terrorist attacks, child abductions and school violence, it’s no
surprise that heightened efforts to
protect the family are often accompanied by increased levels of
anxiety and stress.
Parents and caregivers seeking
to safeguard their children from
the dangers of the modern world
— without burning out in the
process — can find a practical,
comprehensive and easy-to-use
resource in The Safe Child Handbook: How to Protect Your Family
and Cope with Anxiety in a ThreatFilled World, written by Prof.
Emeritus John Dacey (LSOE) and
his former BC doctoral student
Lisa B. Fiore, now of Lesley University.
The book outlines the top eight
threats to children and parents —
weather emergencies, kidnapping,
terrorism, inappropriate media influence, drug and alcohol abuse,
child abuse, school violence, home
safety — and shows how families
can be ready to face the most drastic situations with confidence.
A step-by-step guide filled with
practical advice, helpful techniques
and fun activities for children, The
Safe Child Handbook is an invaluable tool for families seeking to
prepare and protect their loved
ones from realistic threats and
risks without getting stressed out,
say the authors.
“It can be as dangerous to overprotect your children as it is to do
too little,” says Dacey, a noted
developmental psychologist and
originator of the nationally acclaimed four-step “COPE” method that teaches children to use
self-control to reduce anxiety. “If
John Dacey
you try to protect your children
from every imaginable threat,
you’ll only succeed in fraying and
exhausting your nervous system
— and theirs.
“Safeguarding against severe
weather, school violence, terrorism and other dangers can evoke
powerful anxieties that are potentially more injurious to children
than the threats themselves,” he
says, “so you have to be prepared
to deal with their fears as well as
their protection.”
Coping with a threat-filled
world takes its toll on parents,
as well. “Nearly 20 percent of
today’s mothers are estimated to
be suffering from serious levels of
anxiety,” Dacey says. “We want to
help readers avoid membership in
this group.”
Dacey, who has taught educational psychology at the Lynch
School of Education for 40 years,
is the author of numerous publications on parenting, creativity,
adolescent psychology and human
development, notably the books
The Nurturing Parent: How to
Raise Creative, Loving, Responsible
Children and The Joyful Family,
written with Lynne Weygint.
For more information about
The Safe Child Handbook, see
www2.bc.edu/~dacey.
can do so by dropping
off new toys at the
Sister Thea Bowman
AHANA Center at 72
College Road through
Jan. 5. The items will
be presented to La
Sociedad Latina at the
organization’s annual
meeting and Three
Kings’s Day celebration on Jan. 6.
Guerrero says that
the toys should be suitable for children ages
infant-13. All donated
toys must be new and
in their original packaging, she notes.
***
A highlight of the Connell School
of Nursing annual holiday party (held
yesterday) is the benefit silent auction
organized by Prof. Joellen Hawkins.
Sports memorabilia, jewelry, artwork
and other items are auctioned off and
the proceeds are donated to Rosie’s
Place. Last year’s auction raised nearly
$1,840.
***
Connell School of Nursing graduate students had a pretty busy first
week of December: They held a dinner dance at the Park Plaza Hotel on
Dec. 2 that raised $1,000 for The
Global Fund (www.theglobalfund.
org), which fights AIDS, tuberculosis
and malaria around the world. Then
on Dec. 4 and 5, they organized pizza luncheons where attendees could
donate clothes, toiletries and winter
accessories from a wish list of the
Sidney Borum Jr. Health Center, a
Boston agency that provides health
care to homeless and disadvantaged
teens and young adults. ***
During the semester break, the
Connell School will debut the Global
Health Initiative, a new immersionbased service-learning experience in
which eight undergraduates and two
graduate students will provide nursing care and health education to residents in one of Nicaragua’s poorest
communities.
From Jan. 4-14, the CSON group
will be centered at a neighborhood
clinic in Nueva Vida in Ciudad Sandino, built originally for survivors of
Newton resident Sarah Blake displays her gingerbread house-making talents for her
father Kevin at this past Sunday’s “Winter Wonderland” event on Newton Campus,
sponsored by the Alumni Association. Toys were collected at the event for donation
to the Massachusetts Department of Social Services. (Photo by Suzanne Camarata)
the 1972 Nicaragua earthquake and
further populated in 1998 with families displaced by Hurricane Mitch.
The community lacks running water, sanitation facilities, and electricity
and there is much acute and chronic
illness, inadequate employment, and
educational disadvantage. Along with tax-deductible donations, GHI participants seek contributions of medications and medical
supplies such as rubber gloves, tongue
depressors, antibiotics, antiseptic
creams and lotions, minor surgical instruments, and sterile dressings. Other useful items are soap, toothpaste,
toothbrushes, insect repellent, cloth
and sewing supplies, coloring books
and crayons, toys, lollipops, books in
Spanish, and children’s clothing. For more information, contact
Assoc. Prof. Joyce Pulcini (CSON)
at ext.2-3232 or joyce.pulcini.1@
bc.edu.
***
Whatever else they might do over
Christmas vacation, students at the
Mary Lyon School of Brighton can
enjoy a little reading, thanks to the
Graduate School of Social Work.
GSSW student Madeline Howe
felt that the school’s Student Collective — for which she is the community action coordinator — should
organize a holiday outreach activity
that would enable her colleagues, despite their busy schedules, to make a
difference.
Santa Claus takes time for an interview with freshmen Maggie Rulli and John
Offer during the annual campus Christmas tree-lighting on Dec. 4. Participants at
the ceremony enjoyed performances by student musicians and contributed winter
clothing to a local charity. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
So, taking a page from her undergraduate days at Tulane University,
Howe organized a “giving tree” project to benefit students at Mary Lyon,
which has established an inclusion
program for children with severe social and emotional disabilities.
Howe set up “trees” in the GSSW
faculty and student lounges, both
adorned with ornaments containing names of Mary Lyon students
— almost 120 overall. Faculty and
students were invited to select one to
three names apiece and buy books for
the children. More than 100 members of the GSSW community participated, Howe says; the books they
purchased cover subjects from sports
to anime to Egypt to horror.
***
At the end of this month, a group
of Graduate School Social Work
faculty and students will travel to
India, where they will participate in
a unique learning experience about
human services in the region. As part
of their trip, the group will visit Dalit
children living in an orphanage, and
are looking for items they can use
for arts and crafts activities with the
youngsters: popsicle sticks, coloring
books, pencils and pens, markers and
crayons, glue (bottle and sticks), stickers, fuzzy art balls, glitter glue, pipe
cleaners and Polaroid film.
These items should be packaged
and left in the donation box located
in the GSSW student lounge in McGuinn Hall.
***
Two recently initiated holiday
outreach events enjoyed success this
month. BC’s second annual Fair
Trade Holiday Sale, which took
place Dec. 7 in the McElroy Conference Room, raised more than $2,000
to benefit the Miraflor Scholarship
Fund in Nicaragua and the Fundahmer-CEBES in El Salvador. As
a result, at least 15 Nicaraguan and
Salvadoran children will be able to
attend school.
Also, this week the Office of
Graduate Student Life wrapped up
its third annual Toys for Tots toy
drive, surpassing its goal of collecting 500 toys from students, faculty,
and staff.
—Compiled by Office of Public
Affairs staff
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
december 14, 2006
HEIGHTS
OF
EXCELLENCE
Photos by Lee Pellegrini
Committed to Change
Juliet Schor sees link in her academic and social missions
“Heights of Excellence” profiles faculty members who, through their exemplary teaching and research, contribute
to the intellectual and spiritual life of
Boston College
By Greg Frost
Staff Writer
says – and she has been summoned back to speak to
100 of the company’s top brass.
Regardless of whether a big shift in corporate
policy results, Schor’s presentation to the insurance
executives is important because it demonstrates her
particular vision about learning and scholarship. To
Schor, acquiring knowledge is only part of the education equation; inextricably linked to that is the duty
to act on it and bring about social change.
It’s an early summer day in Boston, and Sociology Department chair Prof. Juliet Schor is busy
Influenced at a young age
doing the work of a public sociologist.
Schor admits that she developed an orientation
As defined by former American Sociological
to politics and social action at a young age, growing
Association President Michael Burawoy, the label
up in the tiny coal-mining town of California, Pa.
refers to those in the profession who combine learnHer parents – “both very committed social activists,”
ing and scholarship with a drive to act and improve
Schor says – were there because her father had been
society. The term is well-suited for Schor, a nationblacklisted in the 1950s. A surgeon by trade, he went
ally recognized expert on consumerism and trends
to work for a coal miners’ union and set up a health
in work and leisure who has been on a mission to
clinic for miners.
right societal wrongs for most of her career – if not
Shaped by her parents’ views and by the turmoil
her life.
of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Schor says she beOn this particular day, Schor’s classroom is a
came a student activist in high school. Her first major
sleek, windowless conference room; her pupils are
cause was the farm workers’ union, and she found
a half-dozen or so executives at a health insurance
herself oriented toward questions of power relationcompany. Faced with mounting costs from Amerships between workers and their employers. From
ica’s obesity epidemic, the executives are exploring
there, it was a natural progression to economics, the
ways to foster healthier lifestyles, particularly among
subject in which she earned bachelor’s and doctoral
children. They have invited Schor, whose 2004
degrees from Wesleyan University and the University
book Born to Buy illusof Massachusetts at
trates the extent to which
Amherst, respecchildren have become
tively.
targets of opportunity
Schor
taught
for corporate America’s
economics at Wilmarketing machine, to
liams College and
share her views.
Barnard College
Schor runs through a
before joining the
slideshow outlining the
faculty of Harvard’s
major themes from her
economics departbook: the commercialment in 1984.
ization of childhood, the
It was during her
fact that food – much of
time at Harvard that
it junk – is the top prodSchor made a nauct category being sold to
tional name for herkids, the way marketers
self, landing on The
try to drive a “coolness”
New York Times
wedge between children
bestseller list with
and their parents to sell
a look at a curious
junk food, and the corretrend in American
sponding surge in childsociety. Her book,
Prof. Juliet Schor (Sociology) with Maggie Ford ’07: “Today’s students are
hood obesity rates.
The Overworked
Schor’s audience – very concerned about issues of inequality, exploitation, poverty, the failures American: The Unof the global system, the unraveling of the social fabric here at home. To the
several of whom are par- extent that we have a tradition here of both teaching and scholarship that
expected Decline of
ents themselves – seems engages those problems and uses teaching and scholarship as a means to try Leisure, bluntly reto be bordering on hope- to solve them, I think that’s a huge strength.”
pudiated the notion
lessness. One executive
that American-style
asks what, if anything, can be done. Another excapitalism was producing declines in work time
ecutive – the company’s marketing chief – wonders
thanks to continuous productivity improvements.
aloud how “coolness” can be tapped to promote
Instead, Schor wrote, the opposite was true: The averhealthy eating and exercise in kids.
age American was working longer hours.
It’s the moment Schor has been waiting for.
The Overworked American marked the first time
There needs to be a change in the food environSchor had written a book for a general audience,
ment, she says, but simply using more advertising
and to this day it is the professional achievement of
won’t work. Instead, she suggests solutions like
which she is most proud because of the way it resoencouraging more family meals, partnering with
nated with Americans and influenced public policy.
children’s advocacy groups, and funding so-called
One example Schor cites is the correspondence she
“edible schoolyards,” in which schoolchildren grow
had with many readers who said the book changed
their own organic food, prepare it and eat it totheir lives. She also points to the Family and Medical
gether.
Leave Act, the landmark legislation that lets workers
“It’s time for companies like yours to stand up to
take unpaid leave due to illness or care for sick family
the food companies and tell them to stop marketing
members, which was signed into law a year after The
to kids,” she says.
Overworked American hit bookshelves.
It’s a tough sell, and it’s not immediately clear
“That’s the thing that has been most gratifying:
how Schor’s exhortation has gone over. The meetThe work had an impact in propelling the work-faming ends shortly thereafter with the executives telling
ily agenda,” she says.
Schor that they’ll consider her suggestions and get
Around the time The Overworked American came
back to her, although it might take a while.
out, Schor started teaching women’s studies in adMonths later, she receives word. It turns out her
dition to economics at Harvard and found herself
lecture struck a chord – “They told me told me that
drawn more toward cultural and social issues. By the
my seminar was an ‘aha’ moment for them,” Schor
time she came out with The Overspent American: Up-
scaling, Downshifting and the New Consumer in 1998,
she was fascinated with America’s work-spend-debt
culture.
It was also around this time that she began hiring
students from Boston College’s Ph.D. program to
teach women’s studies at Harvard, and the assessment
of their performance was impressive.
“They were getting excellent recommendations.
The students at Harvard were saying things like ‘This
is the best teaching fellow I’ve had,’ so I started to
learn more about the Sociology Department at BC,”
she says.
Conversations with faculty, deans and students
suggested to her that in addition to academic excellence, there was a strong tradition of service and social
conscience ingrained in the mission of the Sociology Department and in the University as a whole.
That, coupled with the fact that husband Prasannan
Parthasarathi had been hired to teach in the History
Department, helped her see that BC was a perfect fit.
In 2001, she left Harvard after 17 years and joined BC
as a professor of sociology.
Talking the talk, walking the walk
As a self-described public sociologist, Schor talks
the talk and walks the walk, melding scholarship with
a kind of day-to-day social activism that plays out in
front of students and outside the classroom.
On Greater Boston’s congested roads, she can be
found driving her older-model Toyota Prius hybrid,
trying to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. In
her Newton home, she resists the pull of the consumerist culture by insisting on family meals and restricting television access for her two children (although in
the last year she has eased her stance a bit, allowing her
10-year-old daughter to view an episode of the Fox hit
series “American Idol” and letting her son catch the
odd Red Sox game on NESN).
When she’s not teaching, researching, running her
department or raising her family, Schor serves on the
board of directors of the Center for a New American
Dream, a Maryland-based non-profit she co-founded
in the 1990s that aims to help Americans consume
responsibly.
Sean Sheehan, the group’s outreach director, says
Schor feels very strongly that her work and everything
she brings to it should have an impact on people’s
lives.
“She is probably one of the best examples of an
academic putting knowledge and research into practice and into social change,” Sheehan says.
Boston College Provost and Dean of Faculties Bert
Garza calls Schor’s work a “wonderful example” of
serious scholarship that addresses a significant societal
problem. Garza, former chair of the Food and Nutrition Board for the Institute of Medicine, says that
among the aspects of Schor’s research that caught his
Continued on page 8
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
december 14, 2006
Fall Sports Wrap-up
Postings
Emergency closings and early
dismissal policy
Vice President for Human Resources
Leo V. Sullivan has issued the annual
reminder concerning the University’s
policy for work cancellation, delayed
openings and early dismissal due to inclement weather or other emergencies.
Employees should tune to WBZ-TV
News Channel 4, WCVB-TV Channel
5 “Eye Opener News” or WBZ News
Radio 1030 AM between 6:30 and 8:30
a.m. for announcements of cancellations, delays or closings. Employees
also may dial ext.2-INFO or see the
BCInfo Web page [www.bc.edu/bcinfo]
for information.
An announcement canceling classes
does not mean there is a cancellation
of work; it will specifically mention that
Boston College is “closed” when employees are not expected to report.
Unless otherwise notified, all staff
are expected to remain at work until
closing.
Shuttle bus schedule revised for
semester break
The Boston College shuttle bus service will operate on a reduced schedule beginning Dec. 20, and will cease
entirely from Dec. 23 to Jan. 1, when
the University closes for the Christmas
and New Year’s holidays.
Service will resume on a limited basis
on Jan. 2, with buses running from
7:30-9:30 a.m. and 2:30-5:30 p.m.
From Jan. 5-12, the shuttle service
will be available approximately every
15-20 minutes from 7 a.m.-12:30 a.m.
Regular service returns on Saturday,
Jan. 13, with a weekend schedule. Following Martin Luther King Day on Jan.
15, the regular weekday schedule will
commence on Jan. 16 with the start of
second semester classes.
For more information, see the shuttle
bus Web site at www.bc.edu/offices/
transportation/bus/.
Last issue of Chronicle for
fall semester
Today’s Boston College Chronicle is
the final edition of the fall 2006 semester. Chronicle will resume publication
on a biweekly basis on Jan. 18, with a
deadline of Jan. 11 for all copy to be
submitted.
For news and updates on Boston
College, visit the BCInfo Web page at
www.bc.edu/bcinfo.
Exhibitions Open
During Break
Three campus exhibitions will
continue during the upcoming semester break. Visit the Web sites
given below for specific days and
hours.
“Cosmophilia: Islamic Art from
the David Collection,” McMullen
Museum of Art, Devlin Hall. [www.
bc.edu/artmuseum]
“My monster is in safe keeping:
The Samuel Beckett Collection at
Boston College,” Irish Room and
Fine Print Room, John J. Burns
Library. [www.bc.edu/libraries/centers/burns]
“We Are Still Here: Contemporary Issues in Native America,”
O’Neill Library. [www.bc.edu/libraries/meta-elements/html/2006fall/]
Boston College will be closed
during the week of Dec. 25-29.
For information on campus
events, see the University Calendar
at events.bc.edu or BCInfo [www.
bc.edu/bcinfo].
Academic Achievement Enhances Athletics’ Success
The Eagles’ field hockey
team finished ninth in the
country and featured a
first-team All America,
Bob Dirks, shown in action
at left. (Photo courtesy of
Boston College Athletic Association)
BC student-athlete
graduation rate is
second in nation
By Reid Oslin
Staff Writer
If Boston College and Navy
cannot settle their differences on
the football field at the Meineke
Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, NC,
on Dec. 30 (1 p.m., ESPN), perhaps they can bring their rivalry to
the nearest library for resolution.
The two schools — both sporting 9-3 records — are the nation’s
top two bowl teams in terms of
football student-athlete graduation rates and academic progress
rates, according to a study released
at the end of the 2006 college
football season.
Boston College has graduated
96 percent of the football scholarship student-athletes who enrolled
in 1999-2000, while 98 percent
of the football players who started
at the US Naval Academy in the
same year have also earned their
degrees. Those graduation figures
are the highest among the 64 Division 1-A teams that are playing
in post-season games this year.
Boston College and Navy are
also the best bowl teams in terms
of the NCAA’s new Academic
Progress Rate (APR) standard, an
extensive measurement that is intended to more accurately gauge
grades and graduation rates. Navy
has a 986 APR, while Boston
College is 982 in the most recent
study, which does not include the
current academic year.
The APR was developed in
2004 and awards points based
on how many scholarship athletes meet academic eligibility
standards. A score of 925 indicates that 50 percent of a team’s
student-athletes are on track to
graduate.
A study released earlier this
month by Richard Lapchick, director of the Institute for Diversity
and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida, shows that
40 schools or 62.5 percent of this
year’s bowl teams received an APR
score of 925 or higher – up from
59 percent last year.
Seven of the eight Atlantic
Coast Conference schools who
will be playing in bowl games
are rated among Lapchick’s “Top
25” based on APR scores: Boston
College, Clemson, Florida State,
Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami
and Wake Forest.
This year’s Meineke Car Care
Bowl will pay in excess of $1 million to each participating team,
according to bowl officials, but
Boston College will realize an
even greater amount from a revenue sharing plan that includes all
members of the ACC.
WELCOME ADDITIONS
•Asst. Prof. Jennifer Allen (CSON)
PhD, Harvard School of Public
Health
Research Interests: Development
and evaluation of communitybased approaches to cancer prevention among medically underserved populations.
Courses: Nursing Research Methods, Advanced Practice in Community Health Nursing, Community Health Nursing Clinical.
For the past 13 years, Allen has
been an investigator in the Center
for Community-Based Research
at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and an instructor
at the Harvard School of Public
Health. She is currently working
on a number of research studies
with a goal of contributing toward
the elimination of disparities in
cancer morbidity and morality.
In addition to holding bachelor’s
and master’s degrees in nursing
from Boston College, she earned
a master’s degree in public health
and doctorate in health and social
behavior and maternal and child
health from the Harvard School
of Public Health.
•Assoc. Prof. Gauvin Alexander
Bailey (Theology)
PhD, Harvard University
Research Interests: Intersection
of art and Catholicism in the
Renaissance and Baroque eras,
especially in Italy, Latin America
and Asia.
Courses: Introduction to Christian Theology I and II (Western
Art and Christianity); Saints and
Sinners: Religion in Caravaggio’s
Italy; Art and Catholic Missions/
Latin America, Asia and Africa.
Bailey is the former Luce Visiting Professor in Scripture and
the Visual Arts at Boston University and was program director in
art history and associate professor of renaissance and baroque
art at Clark University. He has
curated or co-curated a number
of museum exhibitions, including
“Saints and Sinners: Art and Culture in Caravaggio’s Italy” at Boston College’s McMullen Museum
of Art in 1999. He is working on
two new books, The Mestizo Style
Churches of Colonial Peru and Baroque & Rococo.
“All of the [bowl] monies go
to the league,” explains Athletics
Director Gene DeFilippo, noting
that BCS bowls pay participants
approximately $15 million and
eight ACC teams will play in
post-season football games this
year. “Each team is then given an
‘allowance’ to go to its bowl game
and cover the expenses.
“In June, [ACC member institutions] will share all of the
money from the bowls, the ACC
basketball tournament and the
television package,” he said.
This week, Eagles senior offensive guard Josh Beekman — already honored as the top ACC
lineman for 2006 — was named
to the Associated Press All-America first team. Beekman also won
the Scanlan Trophy, the highest
honor bestowed upon a Boston
College football player.
The Boston College football
team was not the only Eagle athletic squad to enjoy a successful
fall season. Other fall sports highlights included:
•Men’s Cross-Country: Junior
•Prof. James Morris (Theology)
PhD, Harvard University
Research Interests: Islamic theology and philosophy.
Courses: The Religious Quest:
Comparative Perspectives; Encountering the Qur’an: Contexts
and Approaches; Mystical Poetry
in the Islamic Humanities.
Morris’ teaching career includes the University of Exeter in
England, where he taught and directed graduate studies at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, as well as stints at Oberlin,
Temple, Princeton and the Institute of Ismaili Studies in Paris and
London. He earned a Danforth
Fellowship and Whiting Foundation Dissertation Fellowship in
addition to foreign research fellowships in Iran, Egypt, France
and Morocco. His publications on
Islamic religion and philosophy
include the books Knowledge of
the Soul and The Reflective Heart:
Discovering Spiritual Intelligence in
Ibn ‘Arabi’s ‘Meccan Illumination.’
Patrick Mellea finished
sixth in the NCAA
Northeast Region (of
230 runners) and was
named All-ACC.
•Women’s CrossCountry:
Mallory
Champa ’09 earned
All-America and AllACC honors. BC won
the NCAA Northeast
Regional and reached
the NCAA Championship round.
Head coach Randy Thomas was
named the NCAA’s Northeast
Regional Coach of the Year.
•Field Hockey: BC finished
14-6 and ranked ninth in the nation. Sophomore Bob Dirks from
the Netherlands was a first-team
All-America and the ACC’s Offensive Player of the Year.
•Men’s Soccer: Charlie Davies
’08 was the ACC Offensive Player
of the Year as he set a school
record with 36 points (15 goals,
6 assists). Davies was a finalist
for the Hermann Trophy, college
soccer’s top individual honor.
•Women’s Soccer: The Eagles
advanced to the Final 16 of the
NCAA championship tournament
before losing a 1-0 contest to
Penn State. Senior Laura Georges
of France was selected ACC Defensive Player of the Year and was
a semifinalist for the Hermann
Trophy as the top performer in
women’s college soccer. Freshman
Gina DiMartino was named the
ACC’s “Rookie of the Year.”
•Prof. Thanh V. Tran (GSSW)
PhD, University of Texas at Arlington
Research Interests: Cross-cultural
research methodology; evidencedbased research and evaluation;
mental health services research.
Courses: Research Methods.
Tran returned this fall to the
Graduate School of Social Work,
where he taught from 1988 until
2001, when he left to become
director and professor at the California State University-Los Angeles School of Social Work. Tran,
who coordinates GSSW faculty
research, has served as principal or
co-principal investigator of nearly a dozen research and training
grant activities in recent years,
involving such areas as mental
health research infrastructure
programs, child welfare training
contracts, and health care needs
of Vietnamese-Americans, elderly
Russian immigrants and refugees,
and elderly Chinese-Americans,
among others.
—Reid Oslin
“Welcome Additions,” an occasional feature, profiles new faculty
members at Boston College.
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
december 14, 2006
Newsmakers
•Drucker Professor of Management Sciences Alicia Munnell,
director of BC’s Center for Retirement Research, was interviewed by
Dow Jones Business News about
baby boomer retirements and
by MarketWatch about pension
freezes, a story that also ran in the
New York Daily News, Christian
Science Monitor and Dallas Morning News.
•Adj. Assoc. Prof. Richard McGowan, SJ (CSOM), was quoted
by the Boston Herald regarding
planned expansion of the Mohegan Sun casino and by the
Providence Journal about the selling
of Harrah’s.
•Flatley Professor of Theology
David Hollenbach, SJ, director
of BC’s Center for Human Rights
and International Justice, and Prof.
Rev. Kenneth Himes (Theology) wrote pieces for America on
aspects of the recent international
conference on “Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church”
organized by Prof. James Keenan,
SJ (Theology).
•Monan Professor of Theology
Lisa Sowle Cahill was quoted by
National Catholic Register regarding
proposed new norms for Catholic
hymns.
• Assoc. Prof. Michael Connolly
(Slavic and Eastern Languages )
was quoted by columnist William Safire in his Sunday New York
Times Magazine analysis of the
term “rant.”
•Prof. Harvey Egan, SJ (Theology), was quoted by the MetroWest
Daily News on the revival of the
Latin Mass.
•Prof. Richard Blake, SJ (Fine
Arts), discussed film depictions of
the Amish with the Religion News
Service and the lure of scary films
with the Boston Herald.
PEOPLE
•Assoc. Prof. Kathleen Seiders
(CSOM) was interviewed by
CBS4-Boston News for a segment
on new wireless shopping scanners.
•Prof. Paul Lewis (English) appeared on the National Public Radio program “On Point” to discuss
his latest book.
•Prof. Emeritus John Dacey
(LSOE) was interviewed by McClatchy Newspapers for a story on
keeping kids safe on-line. The piece
ran in the Chicago Tribune, among
other periodicals.
•Prof. Stephen Pope (Theology)
appeared on NPR’s “On Point,”
discussing religion’s evolutionary
origins.
•Prof. Juliet Schor (Sociology)
published an op-ed on the environmental impact of the holiday
season in the Boston Globe.
•A review of “Selections,” edited
by Assoc. Prof. Ernesto LivonGrossman (Romance Languages),
appeared in the Times of London.
•Prof. Carlo Rotella (English)
reviewed a biography of former
heavyweight boxing champ Gene
Tunney in the Chicago Tribune.
Honors/Appointments
• Asst. Prof. Torsten Fiebig
(Chemistry) is co-recipient of the
Gramaticakis-Neumann Prize,
awarded by the Swiss Chemical
Society to young researchers for
their work in photochemistry.
• Asst. Prof. Steven D. Bruner
(Chemistry) received a Career
Grant from the National Science
Foundation.
•Adj. Assoc. Prof. Drew Yanno
(Fine Arts) was named to the
Nota Bene
A team of six Boston College undergraduates will share a prize of
$10,000 earned for finishing second in the national finals of the 2006
College Fed Challenge, an academic economics competition sponsored
by the Federal Reserve Bank held in Washington, DC, on Nov. 28.
The Boston College team – Nikki Tyler ’07, Genna Ghaul ’07,
Andrew Varani ’07, Christina Aylward ’07, Margaret Walton ’08
and Jamison Davies ’08 – were runners-up to a team from Northwestern University in the national finals.
The Fed Challenge competition involves preparation of a 20-minute
economics presentation, followed by a 15-minute questioning period
before a panel of judges comprised of economics professionals, college
faculty members and Fed officials.
The BC contingent earned a trip to the national finals by winning
the regional competition at the Boston Federal Reserve Bank on Nov.
9, finishing ahead of teams from Harvard, Dartmouth and Tufts and
five other schools in the local round.
In addition to the team’s prize, the University will receive a $5,000
grant from the Moody’s Foundation, a co-sponsor of the event.
Assoc. Prof. Robert Murphy (Economics) and Asst. Prof. Fabio Ghironi (Economics) were co-advisors for the Boston College team.
-Reid Oslin
Education Committee of the
Austin Film Festival and appeared
on a panel at this year’s festival to
discuss the merits of a film school
education.
•Assoc. Prof. Rebekah LevineColey (LSOE): $52,917, Northwestern University, “Welfare
Reform and the Well-Being of
Children.”
•Asst. Prof. Roberto Avant-Mier
(Communication) was elected to
the position of Division Chair to
represent the Latino/a Communication Studies Division and La
Raza Caucus within the National
Communication Association.
•Asst. Prof. Damian Betebenner
(LSOE): $50,000, Colorado Dept.
of Education, “Support Colorado
DOE.”
Publications
•Prof. James R. Mahalik (LSOE)
co-authored “Physical health, selfreliance, and emotional control as
moderators of the relationship between locus of control and mental
health among men treated for prostate cancer” with doctoral student
Shaun M. Burns (LSOE) in the
Journal of Behavioral Medicine.
Grants
•Learning to Learn Director Dan
Bunch, $220,000, US Department of Education, “McNair Program”; $270,823, US Department
of Education, “Student Services
Program.”
•Asst. Prof. Gabor Marth (Biology): $336,263, National Institutes
of Health, “A General Bayesian
Polymorphism Discovery Tool.”
•Prof. Ellen Winner (Psychology):
$80,000, The Dana Foundation,
“Effects of Instrumental Music
Training on Brain and Cognitive
Development in Young Children:
A Longitudnal Study.”
•Research Prof. Sandra Bertman
(GSSW): $50,000, Anonymous
Donor, “Program of Medical
Humanities and the Arts in Health
Care.”
•Prof. Paul Davidovits (Chemistry): $174,729, National Science
Foundation, “Effects of Heterogeneous Interactions on Optical
Hygroscopic and CCN Properties
of Organic Atmospheric Aerosols”;
$24,000, National Aeronautics and
Space Administration, “Soot Aerosol Processing in the Atmosphere.”
•Urban Ecology Institute Executive
Director Charles Lord: $15,000,
US Department of Agriculture,
“Coordinating Cross-City Research
in Urban Ecology.”
•Juvenile Rights Advocacy Project
Director Adj. Lect. Francine Sherman (Law): $10,000, Dorchester
House Multi-Service Center, “Girls
Health Passport Project.”
•Prof. John Michalczyk (Fine
Arts): $5,000, Foundation for
Moral Courage, “Gulag Documentary.”
William Youngren Dies;
Taught Literature and Music
William Youngren, a retired
associate professor in the English
Department whose interests extended through both the literary
and musical realms, died Nov.
26 in Epoch Senior Healthcare
of Chestnut Hill. He was 75.
Prof. Youngren joined the
Boston College faculty in 1970
and taught courses in literary
theory, 18th-century literature,
jazz, Wagner, Haydn and Mozart before retiring in 2001.
The author of Semantics,
Linguistics, and Criticism, his
academic interests included German and English 18th-century
and Romantic periods, and in
developing courses on the relation between music and literature.
Colleagues, friends and family members recalled him as an
avid piano player who could appreciate the jazz stylings of Jelly
Roll Morton as well as the operas
of Richard Wagner. Prof. Youngren wrote music criticism for
The Atlantic Monthly and published a book in 2003 on the
songs of C.P.E. Bach, based on
the dissertation he completed
for a doctorate in musicology
at Brandeis University.
“He was a brilliant man —
alert, alive intellectually,” said
Rattigan Professor of English
Emeritus John L. Mahoney, interviewed by The Boston Globe.
“The variety of his interests,
and the variety of his academic
competencies, was amazing.”
A resident of Evanston, Ill.,
Prof. Youngren earned a bachelor’s degree in English from
Amherst College in 1953 and
a doctorate in English literature from Harvard University
in 1961. Prior to BC, he taught
at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology and Smith College.
Prof. Youngren is survived
by his wife Virginia, daughters
Valerie and Erica and son Austin Richards.
—Office of Public Affairs
Time and a Half
• Adj. Lect. Michael Raiger (Philosophy) presented “From Givenness to Gift: Husserl’s Principle of
Intentionality, Stein’s Concept of
Empathy, and John Paul II’s Ethos
of the Gift” at The Phenomenology of John Paul II Conference
held at Duquesne University.
•Prof. Dwayne E. Carpenter
(Romance Languages) presented
“The ‘Alborayque’: A Seedbed of
Riddles, A Hotbed of Controversy”
in the Department of Spanish &
Portuguese Languages & Cultures
at Princeton University.
•Adj. Lect. Martha Bayles (A&S
Honors Program) presented “The
Ugly Americans: How Not to Lose
the Global Culture War” at the
American Enterprise Institute.
•Prof. Marvin Kraus (Economics)
was a discussant and also presented
“Returns to Scale in Networks”
at the North American Regional
Science Association Meetings in
Toronto.
• Connell School of Nursing Associate Dean of Graduate Programs
Patricia A. Tabloski, participated
in a roundtable discussion titled
“Nursing Care of Older Women”
published by AWHONN Lifelines. In addition, Tabloski recently
presented the following: “Gerontological Nursing Review Program”
at the American Nurses Credentialing Center; “Effect of Music and
Noise/Light Reduction Program
on Sleep and Agitation of Nursing
Home Residents with Dementia”
at the American Geriatric Society
Meeting in Chicago; and “Health
Assessment of the Older Adult” at
the Tenth Annual Karen O’Neil
Conference at Caritas Norwood
Hospital.
Jobs
-Technology Consultant, Information Systems (2 positions)
-Custodian III, Facilities Services
-Staff Assistant, Lynch School of
Education -One-to-One Nurse, Campus
School -Administrative Assistant, Chemistry Department -Overnight Security Officer,
BCPD
-Utiltity Worker, Dining Service -Cashier/Line, Dining Services,
Lower Campus
-Utility Worker. Dining Service Dining Services - McElroy
-General Service Worker, Dining
Services - McElroy -Food Service Worker, DiningServices - Lower Campus -Database Assistant, BC Bookstore
For more information on employment at Boston College see www.
bc.edu/bcjobs
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
december 14, 2006
In Any Event, It’s a Lot of Work
Commencement, confabs, concerts: David
Early and BOC do it all
By Stephen Gawlik
Staff Writer
After 32 years of service to Boston College, Bureau of Conferences
Director David Early is finally ready
to reveal a shocking secret.
“Boston College never actually
hired me,” he says.
The former Lyons Hall grill
cook first arrived at BC in 1974
as an employee of a food service
firm that was under contract to run
the University’s dining operations.
When it became apparent that the
company was about to be sold, BC
took on its employees, a few of who
continue to work at the University.
“I was lucky that I never sat for
a job interview and I never filled
out an application,” laughs Early,
who eventually became a manager
in Dining Services until he took
his present job in 1989. “But the
paychecks kept coming so I kept
coming to work.”
December is one of those
months when Early truly earns his
paycheck. Even as BC’s academic
and administrative activity begins to
wind down for the coming semester break, Early and the Bureau of
Conferences staff are hard at work
helping offices and departments put
together holiday parties and other
functions.
“Don’t get me wrong, we attend
a lot of those parties, too,” said
Early, “But this is a busy time of
year in here.”
Busy doesn’t begin to describe
life in the BOC Walsh Hall offices.
Each year the department handles
between 13,000 and 14,000 reservations from faculty, students
and alumni groups for the use of
space in the dozen campus buildings that can accommodate events
and meetings. Of that, the crew of
five annually manages or provides
some service for about 8,000 events
ranging from simple departmental
meetings all way to the University’s
annual Commencement Exercises
held each May.
“Sure, it’s a lot of work, but
we’ve done it with about the same
size staff and budget that we had
when I started here 17 years ago,”
he said, praising the efforts and
dedication of BOC administrators
Jim Mastin, Tim Rice, Sheri Young
and Catherine Jamieson.
“Dave is always on top
of the situation. If things
are going badly behind
the scenes no one will
ever know it.”
—Joseph Duffy, SJ
“Commencement would be a
disaster without Dave Early,” said
University Secretary Joseph Duffy,
SJ, whose office coordinates Commencement each year. “Dave is
always very accommodating and
very available to problems and issues that arise. He’s very sensitive
about maintaining the University as
a place that cares, both on and off
campus.”
BOC staff assist with all levels of
planning, from preparing the room
to determining meal menus, and
work to make sure everything is
done on time and on budget. BOC
collaborates with other BC offices
such as the Facilities Services Custodial and Grounds Maintenance
departments, Catering, the Boston
College Police Department and the
many vendors who provide tables
and chairs, tents and flowers. This
spirit of cooperation is integral to
making campus events successful,
Early says.
“I know 95 percent of the people
at BC, and I love meeting people
and love talking to them — that’s
my reward,” said Early. “Hearing
back from people and knowing that
they and their guests had a good
time is pretty nice, too.”
In addition to its event-planning
role, BOC serves as the clearinghouse for groups to reserve space for
meetings and events on campus.
“If the rugby team wants to have
a meeting in a classroom or we want
to have a dinner for 100 people
in the Heights Room, it all comes
through us,” said Early.
Early says his favorite annual
event is Commencement, which
takes six months to plan and represents the culmination of the BC
experience.
“Commencement is the most
important event of the year,” said
Early. “We have to make it as special as possible, and make sure it
goes perfectly.”
Of course, not everything always goes perfectly, and Early’s job
has given him a front row seat at
some of the more humorous near
misses, averted disasters and close
calls that are a natural part of the
game in event planning. One year,
an incident at Commencement represented the manifestation of his
worst nightmare.
As it had for years, explains Early, the University that day used a
disguised flatbed trailer for a stage,
which was rolled into Alumni Stadium and supported by a system of
hydraulic lifts. Early was standing
off to the side watching as the ceremony unfolded.
BC SCENES
BOPPIN’ AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE
BC bOp! helped liven up the 20th annual Breaking the Barriers Ball, held Dec. 8 in Gasson Hall. Administrators and faculty
joined students at the festivities, with proceeds benefiting the Carol DiMaiti Stuart Foundation, which provides scholarships
to residents of Mission Hill who attend college or vocational schools. (Photo by Frank Curran)
Bureau of Conferences Director David Early with his indispensible phone, and his equally
indispensible BOC staff (L-R, Tim Rice, Cathy Jamieson, Sheri Young and Jim Mastin): “If
the rugby team wants to have a meeting in a classroom or we want to have a dinner for
100 people in the Heights Room, it all comes through us.” (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
“Suddenly I notice that the
stage is sinking very slowly,” he said.
“The hydraulics must have failed.”
A few quick calls got a crew of
tradesmen on the scene and the
sinking was halted – just in the nick
of time – and without anyone on
stage missing a beat.
“There we were right in the
middle of Commencement with
guys pounding away trying to get
that thing to stop collapsing. Looking back it’s easy to smile, but
that could have been a disaster,”
he said.
A crisis at a recent Pops on the
Heights event required some quick
action by the BC Police, Early says.
“They were all set to start the
concert and someone [in the Pops
Esplanade Orchestra] realized that
they didn’t have the sheet music,”
laughed Early. “So we had to put
them in a BCPD cruiser and get
them downtown and back before
the show started.”
Early says he’s most proud of the
2000 Finance Conference, which
was held in Conte Forum and included a visit by then-Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan,
leading executives from top technology firms and plenty of national
media attention.
“Most people didn’t realize it at
the time, but the night before there
was a hockey game in Conte Forum
that went into overtime. So we really had to scramble to get the floor
over the ice put down and all the
staging and lights set up.
“We worked from about 10 p.m.
to 10 a.m., but it went off without a
hitch and we were ready for all those
executives.”
Says Fr. Duffy, “Dave is always
on top of the situation. If things are
going badly behind the scenes no
one will ever know it. That’s one of
Dave’s great skills.”
Practicing What She Teaches
Continued from page 5
eye is her focus on the link between
consumerism and obesity among
US children.
“Juliet’s work is helping us understand relationships between how
food is marketed to children and
the growing global obesity epidemic. It is an instructive example of
a multidisciplinary approach that
is of economics and sociology,” he
says.
Critics, including some colleagues at BC, have questioned
whether her role as a public sociologist involves stepping too far into
the arena of advocacy, especially
in issues related to the Catholic
dimension of Boston College. But
Schor says one doesn’t have to dig
very deep to see that social change
is part of her department’s DNA.
The actual title of Boston College’s
PhD program in Sociology, she
notes, isn’t just “Sociology” but
“Social Justice and Social Economy:
Class, Race and Gender in a Global
Context.”
“That had a huge impact on me
when I found that out,” Schor says,
recalling how the discovery of the
program’s name helped influence
her decision to leave Harvard for
the Heights.
“At Harvard there’s an iron curtain between scholarship and service, and it’s very deliberate,” Schor
says. “I think that’s a problematic
distinction – it’s an impoverishing
distinction to both sides of the equation.”
Schor says it is important for
Boston College and especially the
Sociology Department to build on
the tradition of engaged scholarship.
“Today’s students are very concerned about issues of inequality,
exploitation, poverty, the failures of
the global system, the unraveling of
the social fabric here at home,” she
says. “To the extent that we have a
tradition here of both teaching and
scholarship that engages those problems and uses teaching and scholarship as a means to try to solve them,
I think that’s a huge strength.”